On Tuesday, Alphabet’s google announced a series of new Pixel smartphones with deeper AI technology integrations in a race to incorporate AI into its hardware.
The event at Alphabet’s headquarters goes against a tradition google has stuck to with every Pixel iteration – the flagship smartphone it launched in Oct. 2016 – to announce new versions in autumn.
The earlier reveal is google ’s latest attempt to keep up with rivals in injecting AI features into its consumer products and comes before apple ’s Sept. launch of a new iPhone.
apple announced in June that devices including the latest iPhone versions would be upgraded to include “ apple Intelligence,” generative AI-powered features within native applications, and a ChatGPT integration, the chatbot developed by OpenAI.
New AI integrations revealed on Tuesday include a feature only available in Pixels that allows users to search for information in screenshots. Android users will also be able to pull up google ’s chatbot, Gemini, as an overlay over other apps to generate content or answer questions.
The Pixel 9 will retail at $799, which is $100 more expensive than the previous model. This and the Pixel 9 Pro XL will start shipping later this month. The Pixel 9 Pro, which has a better camera, and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold will ship in Sept.
